Care

Why Us?

Knowledge. Experience. Integrity.

OClinic is Sydney's premier weight loss clinic. We specialise in providing weightloss surgery combined with committed and ongoing support. In addition to vast experience in weightloss surgery, our key strength is our team approach and total commitment to long-term aftercare.

The OCare total care program is comprehensive and ongoing to enable you to get results. Our team of highly experienced health professionals are all in-house- you will not be sent away to outside dietitians or psychologists. Our whole environment is geared up for weight management. We are dedicated to helping you achieve not just weight loss, but also improving your medical health and quality of life. We really want you to succeed!

Every aspect of our care is covered by your once-off program fee. We believe that you shouldn’t have to pay extra to receive the proper care you deserve, or not be completely clear on all the costs involved. There are no hidden charges, expiry dates, or any other fees from us- ever. Clear and transparent. Our standard fee includes items that are not usually included in surgery fee estimates from other providers- we include the anaesthetist's fee, the assistant surgeons fee, our psychologist and dietitian consultations, and all of your band adjustment and medical check-ups after your procedure. You can feel safe in knowing exactly where you stand. Even if your surgery is more complex because of adhesions, previous gastric surgery or a hiatus hernia for example, we will not impose any additional charge. That's the OClinic difference.

OCare- our total care program

Our OCare total care program is comprehensive, intensive, and ongoing, designed to help you to get the most out of your weightloss tool, whether it be the gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy, or the gastric balloon. OCare will maximise your ability to enjoy sustained weight control and a better quality of life.

The uniquely integrated features of the OCare total care program are:

Regular clinic review. We look forward to seeing you every month (every 3 months for the sleeve gastrectomy) until you reach your goal weight, then annually thereafter. The main purpose is to ensure your band is controlling your hunger properly, and that you are not experiencing difficulties with eating or reflux, etc. Band adjustments are often performed during these consultations. You will be able to track your weight loss progress on our dedicated gastric band database LapBase at each clinic visit [to see how you are going]. Unlimited consultations are included in your program, and we are always happy to see you at a moments notice if any problems arise- just pick up the phone and come in.
Ongoing dietary and nutritional support. Our dietitians will walk with you every step of the way, from clear instructions about your diet around the time of your surgery, ongoing advice and support to make living with your band easy, and education about better nutrition. Eight consultations are included, and detailed, colour brochures are provided for each dietary step.
Your personal weightloss coach. We all occasionally eat for comfort, stress, and out of habit or boredom. Sometimes this can happen to the extent that your weight loss may suffer. Our psychologists are highly experienced and successful at helping you overcome these hurdles and put you back in control. Two consultations are included in our program fee, however additional consultations are available at a nominal fee.
Support groups- Regular support groups are held each month at our Crows Nest office near the Mater hospital. Moderated by one of our psychologists, they are a great way to meet other banders, swap stories and share experiences. Research shows that attending support groups is associated with improved results.

Our program really works

Our average patient loses 65% of the excess weight they were previously carrying within 18 months of surgery. Many patients in our program have lost 100% or more of their excess weight. (we track all of our patient's progress on our dedicated database (LapBase) so that we can more accurately follow your progress as well as audit our clinic's performance) Quality of life is dramatically improved, and health problems such as diabetes, sleep apnoea, and high blood pressure are better in a great majority of patients.

The OClinic patient journey

If you feel weightloss surgery is right for you, the whole process begins with an initial consultation with Dr Taylor. You will need a referral from your GP. If you’re still not sure if you’re ready that’s perfectly OK. Why not come along to a free patient information evening and find out more about gastric banding and our program.

Following your initial appointment, a date for your surgery can be scheduled in as little as two weeks. This timeframe allows for a temporary 2 week dietary phase of Optifast, vegetables and salads so as to reduce your liver size and further improve the safety of your surgery. You will meet with a team dietitian to guide you through this phase and explain which foods you are also allowed to have (we will also provide you with clear dietary handouts). You will also meet with our Psychologist prior to surgery, and undergo routine blood tests. (These consultations are all included in your program fee)

After surgery, we need to allow the stomach area to settle and the swelling to subside. This is achieved by having a gradual return to normal solid food- in the first 2 weeks you will just be having high protein fluids and other beverages, but you will not usually be very hungry so this is quite easy to stick to. In the third and fourth weeks you will be able to include mushy foods and purees as well as the swelling settles down further. After this it is back to your everyday range of real foods, just in smaller amounts! You will meet with Dr Taylor and with one of our dietitians at the 2-week mark to check on how you are recovering and explain the recovery diet phase in more detail (colour hand-outs will again be provided to you).

Up until this point the recovery following either Gastric Banding or the Sleeve Gastrectomy is identical- You will now have had 2 consultations with Dr Taylor, 2 consultations with one of our dietitians, and a consultation with one of our psychologists, a 2 week Optifast diet prior to surgery and 2 weeks of fluids and 2 weeks of purees after surgery. After this your journey depends on which procedure you have had:

If you have had the Gastric Band, we will be seeing you again every 4 weeks to perform adjustments, have a chat about your progress, and check that everything is working well with your band (Weightloss Phase). We will continue seeing you every 4 weeks until you reach your goal weight- this is usually takes around 18 months, although some patients reach their goal weight after 12 months, whilst others may take 24 months. We like to see you losing between 0.5kg-1kg per week. There is no expiry on the number of monthly visits you can have under our program- we will continue to support you every month for as long as it takes for you reach your goal weight. This is the phase when most of your band adjustments will be performed, and when our guidance, advice and support is most needed. A further 6 dietitian consultations are included in your program fee, and you may have these any time you chose- most patients chose to see our dietitians on every second clinic visit.

If you opted for the Sleeve Gastrectomy, we only need to see you once every 3 months until your goal weight is reached. We usually combine these 3-monthly clinic visits with a dietitian consultation (a further 6 dietitian consultations are included in your program fee, just like with the gastric band, and you may utillise these any time it suits you).

At around 6 months after your surgery (either gastric banding or sleeve gastrectomy) we will again offer you a consultation with one of our psychologists. Once again this is included without further charge in our program, and the main purpose of this consultation isto see how things are getting along for you. Any change in life, even good changes, can be unsettling, and we want to help you. Also, its a good time to check whether any harmful patterns are starting to creep back in, such as comfort eating, and if so help you with this.

In addition to these formal psychology consultations, we also offer regular support groups. These are held every fortnight in the evening, and are moderated by one of our psychologists. Everyone in our program is welcome to attend as many or as few as you desire. Research shows patients who attend support groups acheive greater weightloss.

Once you reach your goal weight, we still like to keep in touch, and want to see you at least once a year for an annual check-up (Maintenance Phase). You are welcome to come in at any time though to see us if you have any concerns. Ongoing care is part of our program philosophy- you’ll never be charged additional fees to see us.

The Typical Patient Journey

(Note that aftercare reviews following the Sleeve Gastrectomy are once every 3 months in contrast to the Gastric Band which are monthly)

Click here to go back to the homepage and check your Body Mass Index to see if you are suitable for our weight loss program.